Picture Perfect - the Doe and the Tanuki
by GoldenCityBird
Summary: What do you get when a feminist, an American, and a tanuki end up with mysterious debts? Mahiru, Max and Konosuke are total strangers who don't even go to school together, but their love of photography might bring them together - and maybe even save them. Danganronpa/Life is Strange/Morenatsu crossover.
1. Chapter 1

Mahiru sat on the park bench, watching the sun set. It was a striking moment, when the tangerine sky met the cool, dark ocean, uninterrupted by the lights of the city behind her. She had already taken a photo, but she preferred portraits - she always did. Most of the other students were studying in their dorms or at home. But Mahiru was waiting for someone in particular.

"Hey. You're Koizumi, right?"

Mahiru turned to the person who was talking - she had brown, staight hair, and wore a t-shirt with a silhouette of a doe. She had a camera bag slung around her shoulder.

"Yes, I am," Mahiru said. "You can call me Mahiru if you want to." She extended her hand. "You're Maxine, right? Can I call you Max?"

"Sure," said Max, shaking Mahiru's hand. "So, what's this all about?"

"We're still waiting on someone." She sighed. "Boys..."

Max sat on the bench next to Mahiru. She said something, but Mahiru didn't notice - she felt tired, and wanted to go to sleep.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting."

Mahiru jolted up. She saw the person who was talking - he looked about her age, but maybe twice her weight. He wore a yellow jacket over a white t-shirt, with a camera on a black string around his neck and small glasses balanced on his nose. And, to her surprise, he was covered head to toe in brown fur. Mahiru thought he looked like a raccoon dog.

"Are you alright?" he asked. "You look shocked, is something the matter?"

"Yeah..." said Mahiru, standing up, ready to shake hands with him. "I'm Mahiru. You must be Kounosuke Kuri."

"I am, indeed." Kounosuke looked towards the sunset. "Beautiful evening, don't you think? I've already taken a few photos, but you and Max probably have as well."

Mahiru turned to Max. "Do you know this guy?"

"Well," said Max, "it's easy to tell who's who, since we messaged each other our names and stuff, so..."

Mahiru sighed. "Well, I've seen your older photos. Let's start taking some new ones."

Mahiru, Max and Kounosuke walked to a different part of the park. It was quiet, save for the rustling of leaves and their own footsteps.

"Nice camera you have, Max," said Kounosuke. "Looks a bit old, though. You sure you don't want a digital one?"

Max seemed to look awkwardly at her camera. "I'm sure," Max said. "I like it."

Mahiru looked closer - it was an old camera, but she recognised it - a 600 Series Polaroid. She took a photo of Max from the side. She admired the visual irony - Max's thin figure against Kounosuke's broad build...

"Are you alright?" asked Max. "You haven't talked much."

"Yeah, I'm fine, but... I've just had an idea."

"What is it?"

"Well, I know you shouldn't talk about money, but I'm having some... problems. The bank dropped a massive debt onto my account and I still don't know why. Maybe we could make some money, selling photos

"Funny you should mention that," said Kounosuke. "I've got your exact problem, too."

"Really? Geez, I guess you can't trust banks now."

"I'm not sure if selling photos will get us enough money, though. We've still got school to worry about, too." He sighed. "I thought that scholarship would help, too."

"I'm in," said Max. "I don't really care about making money from my photos, but I've also got a massive debt from my bank, too. I can't go back to America in the red, so... I guess this might help."

Mahiru smiled. "So, we're doing this?"

"Sure thing," Kounosuke said.

Mahiru picked up her camera again. "Alright. Say cheese!"


	2. Chapter 2

It was a Tuesday morning, and the first class of the day was biology, something Mahiru wasn't exactly fond of. And then there was the kid who sat in front of her - Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu, a prominent member of an infamous Yakuza clan at only 16 years old. He had a habit of passing insulting or threatening notes behind his back to her, like the new one she held now:  
"Cut your ties with Sato, or I will cut her ties with life."  
"Geez," she uttered under her breath. "Grow up."  
The bell rang, allowing the class to leave for a bit of free time. Mahiru met Sato in the hallway, her olive-brown hair seeming rather untidy.  
"Hey," said Sato. "Everything going alright?"  
"Same old stuff," Mahiru replied, putting her biology books into her locker and taking out her mobile phone. "So, how about you?"  
Sato didn't answer, instead burying herself in a book.  
Mahiru sighed, and checked her phone for messages. There was only one, but it was from an unknown number. She checked it cautiously:  
"Hey, Mahiru, it's Kounosuke. First thing's first, there's this photography competition coming up soon, so I decided to sing up for it with you and Max too. I really hope you don't mind me doing this.  
"Secondly... you dropped a bunch of keys when you visited us at the park. Good thing you had your number on a keychain, though. Max and I are planning on hanging out later, so if you want to catch us at Ajisen Ramen, we'll be there."  
The bell rang again. Mahiru hastily grabbed her history books and went to her class.

After the day's lessons ended, Mahiru met Kounosuke and Max at the restaurant. She didn't feel hungry, and the note Fuyuhiko gave her still ran around her mind.  
"Are you feeling alright?" asked Max.  
"Yeah," said Mahiru. "I don't really want my noodles now, to be honest."  
"I'll have them," said Kounosuke. "I need the energy, after all."  
Mahiru pushed the bowl to Kounosuke. "You don't strike me as the athletic sort, really."  
"Well, most of my friends back home took up sports." He sighs, looking like he wants to say something, then starts noisily eating the noodles.  
Max watched Kounosuke eating, then looked back towards Mahiru. "Did Kouno tell you about the competition?"  
"Yeah," said Mahiru. "He didn't give me many details, like he should've, but it looks like you've been signed up, too."  
"It seems a bit much, though. I've heard that Hope's Peak Academy are very strict."  
"Hope's Peak?" Mahiru exclaimed slightly louder than she wanted. Some of the other customers looked at her. "Sorry," she said, quieter, as the restaurant went back to normal. "Kuri, what were you thinking?"  
Kounosuke had finished his noodles. He was blushing, visibly embarassed. "You're not mad at me, are you?"  
"Yeah, a little." Mahiru found herself struggling for words. She couldn't argue with him - he was clearly crestfallen. "So, what exactly is the competition for?"  
"It looks like there's a cash prize for the three best photographers, and the best gets to study at the academy."  
"You know what that means if you win, right? With Hope's Peak guiding you, you're set for life!"  
Max raised her hand slightly. "Uhh... you two know that there's only one spot, right?"  
"Exactly," said Mahiru. "Well, that's one thing settled. You did remember my keys, right?"  
Kounosuke took a keychain with a few keys out of his pocket. "I sure did!"  
Mahiru took them. "Thank you. We'll start looking for business tomorrow."  
"Tomorrow? But we don't have enough gear!"  
"We have our cameras. We're fine."


	3. Chapter 3

p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.119999885559082px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"Mahiru met Max at the park after school the next day. It was a bright, clear day, with an unbroken view across the ocean. Max was sitting on the same bench they met on /"Hey," said Max, noticing Mahiru arrive. "Kounosuke's busy, apparently. He says he's going to the gym."br /"That's good," Mahiru replied, sitting down next to her. "Anyway, I've managed to get a client."br /"Already? Wowsers!"br /Mahiru laughed. "Yeah, "Wowsers" indeed. As I was saying, our client is actually my school's drama club. They want us to take photos for posters for an upcoming play."br /"When does this need to be done by?"br /"As soon as we can, but the club only practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays."br /"OK." There was a long moment of silence. Max stared across the water, but Mahiru's eyes gazed differently. They noticed Max's elegant, skinny shape, her brown hair, and her charming blue /Max turned back to Mahiru. "Should I tell Kounosuke about this?"br /Mahiru forgot what Max was talking about for a few seconds, then remembered. "The drama club photoshoot? Yeah, sure."br /"Alright, then." Max took out her phone and started texting. "You know, I really think I like him. Sure, we've only been hanging out for a few days, but I think I want to get to know him more."br /"Are you sure?"br /"Why? Don't you like him?"br /Mahiru blushed. "Don't worry about it, Max. Just... give it a few days."br /"OK, then." Max stood up. "I'll see you then. Bye, Mahiru."br /"Bye."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.119999885559082px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"Mahiru went back home. Her dad wasn't home again - maybe he was having another long day at "work." Mahiru sometimes doubted that her father did any work at all. She sighed and started cleaning up the dirty /It took her a few minutes to get everything cleaned up. Sometimes, she wanted siblings - just so there would be someone to help her through her father's /Her phone vibrated - another text message, from Kounosuke again. "Hey, Mahiru. I was wondering if you were free on Friday. I wanted to hang out with you again. If you want to save it for the weekend, that's fine."br /Mahiru started typing to reply. "Weekend afternoon's fine. I'll be getting homework on Friday." She sent the message and put her phone back down. She went to her bedroom to do what little homework she got that day./p 


	4. Chapter 4

Mahiru packed her spare digital camera before she went to school. Kounosuke always had a digital one on him, but Max used a polaroid camera instead. After putting away the last piece of gear, she texted Max on her phone:

"Hi, Max. Just letting you know that I'm bringing my spare camera for the photoshoot. Don't worry about anything. I'm sure we'll be fine."

She sent the message and put her phone away. The house was still quiet. her father hadn't returned from yesterday. She sighed - would he ever come back?

Mahiru looked at the clock in the school's entrance. It was half past 3. Any minute now, Max and Kounosuke should arrive. The drama club was likely getting ready for the photoshoot.

Max and Kounosuke came in. They were wearing different clothes - Max wore a black and dark turquoise sailor fuku with a red ascot. Kounosuke wore a black blazer and red-on-black plaid trousers.

"Hi, Mahiru," said Kounosuke. "I take it you remembered the cameras."

"Sure," Mahiru replied, handing her bag over to Max. "Everything you need will be in here."

"Thanks," Max said, taking a camera from the bag. "I'm not too familiar with digital cameras, but it shouldn't be too dificult to work with."

"If you need any help, I'll be right there."

Max's mobile phone started ringing. She picked it up. "Hello?" She paused for a moment, taking out a paper journal. "Yeah, I'll be free tomorrow. Sorry I couldn't show up, Peko... at least I'll be able to meet Fuyuhiko. See you later."

Mahiru stared as Max put her phone away. "Peko? Do you mean Peko Pekoyama?"

"Yeah. She's in my class, and we're really getting along well."

Mahiru sighed. "Look... you can't let anyone know you know her. She was kicked from the school due to... something Yakuza-related. I wish I could remember what it was."

"Yakuza?" Kounosuke asked. "Wow... I never thought — !"

"Stop worrying. It's only a rumour, I'm sure." Mahiru knew that Peko's Yakuza affiliation wasn't a rumour, but she didn't want Kounosuke to panic. She knew what boys were like. "Anyway, we should probably go to the gym hall and set up our gear."

"Yeah. Let's go."

Mahiru, Kounosuke and Max arrived at the gym hall. The lights were all dimmed, with the sole exception a spotlight shining onto the stage, with Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu dressed up in Napoleonic military uniform. He was holding a dramatic pose, and reciting lines in French. Mahiru couldn't understand him, but she could feel the arrogant dignity in his voice. Silently, she started setting up her camera, but Fuyuhiko noticed her.

"You're here?" He stopped posing and stepped down off the stage. "And you bought your friends with you, too?"

"I'm not here because you're here," Mahiru replied. "If anything, I'd have avoided this if I knew."

"Like I fucking care." He glanced at Max, then stared at Kounosuke. "You must be that new transfer student everyone's going on about."

"Everyone?" Kounosuke asked. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. Apparently you've got a criminal record."

"Oh! That's someone else. I'm —"

"Shut up and set up your cameras." Fuyuhiko climbed back onto the stage. "I haven't got all day!" He struck his pose. "Not yet," he added quietly.

Mahiru started adjusting the lens on the camera. Too near, too far... eventually, she found the perfect focus. She looked around - Kounosuke seemed to be doing fine, but Max was having trouble with her tripod. Mahiru approached her. "Here," she said, "let me help you."

"I'm OK," Max replied. "I can do it myself."

"Come on, Max, you're clearly struggling. Here, you're meant to do this..."

Mahiru set up the tripod for Max. It was fairly simple for her — she had already done it many times.

"Thank you," said Max. "I think I understand how to do it now."

"We should've practiced earlier," Mahiru replied. "Sorry, Max."

"I think we should start taking photos now."

"Let's go."

By the time their allocated quarter-hour of photography had finished, Mahiru, Max and Kounosuke had taken many photos. "I guess they'll do," Kounosuke said.

"I'm sure yours are great," Max replied. "Don't be so hard on yourself."

"Maybe we should all look at each other's pictures," Mahiru said. "I'll take Kounosuke's."

"Sure," Kounosuke said, handing his camera over to Mahiru. "I'd really like to hear back from you, though."

"You will. There's always room for improvement." Mahiru passed her camera to Max. "You know, I'm quite surprised."

"About what?" Max asked.

"Fuyuhiko didn't mention Peko at all. I wonder why that is."

"It's probably nothing. He didn't sound like he wanted to talk at all."

"I don't know," said Kounosuke. "He seemed really interested in me, for some reason. Not that I mind, really."

"I should probably be going," said Mahiru. "You know, homework and all that."

"See you tomorrow," said Max. "I'd really like to train with you a bit more."

"Thanks. I'll arrange something if I can."

Mahiru finished packing away her equipment and left the school.


	5. Chapter 5

Mahiru arrived at school early the next day. She was feeling rather confident after the photoshoot. She thought Kounosuke's photos could use some improvement, but they seemed to be what the school was looking for. She waited near the gate, waiting for Sato to arrive. She stood for minutes, yet Sato didn't show up. Becoming concerned, she took out her phone and sent a quick message to her.  
"Hey," she typed. "Are you OK, Sato?" She waited patiently for a response, yet didn't recieve one by the time the bell rang.

Mahiru had been checking her texts as often as she could. Sato still didn't get back to her. It was 4 PM - the school day had already finished. Mahiru sighed, and sent a message to Max. "Hi, Max. I'll be free for most of the day. If you want to practice taking photos, we can meet at our usual spot at the park."  
Mahiru sent the message and started heading to the park. As she reached the gate, she paused and looked around - she had the strange feeling of being watched. Nobody was there. She sighed and resumed her journey.

Upon reaching the park, Mahiru immediately noticed Max talking with a silver-haired girl with a uniform matching Max's. She knew the girl at one glance, and that one glance was enough to anger her. "Peko!"  
Peko turned towards Mahiru. "Koizumi-san? You're here?"  
"You've got a few things to be explaining first."  
"I see." Peko sat down on a bench. "I assume you want to know my motive behind the incident two months ago."  
"You mean Fuyuhiko's motive, don't you? We all know he's the one who ordered that!"  
"Young Master would never—!"  
"Then who made you do that?"  
Peko stood up, gritting her teeth, staring straight into Mahiru's eyes. "Don't ask me any more questions, Koizumi-san."  
"Hey," said Max, timidly. "What's all this about?"  
"It's none of your business," Mahiru replied.  
"It seems like a big deal. If I can help in any way—?"  
"You can't," Peko said bluntly. "I'm sorry, Caulfield-chan. If I knew Koizumi-san would arrive here, I would have expected this."  
"No, it's my fault. I knew Mahiru would be here. I should've told you in advance."  
Peko and Max looked towards Mahiru. Mahiru sighed. "I guess I should say sorry too. It's really my fault more than anyone else's."  
"Do you forgive me?" Peko asked.  
"No, of course not. I mean, injuring a teacher like that has to come with consequences."  
Peko looked away. "I have been suffering due to my actions. I don't want to talk about it right now." She turned to Max. "I apologise, but I want to leave now."  
"OK," Max replied, sighing. "If you want to, I guess."  
Peko left the park. Mahiru and Max sat down together.  
"Why did you bring Peko with you?" Mahiru asked.  
"You didn't seem like you had bad blood with her," Max replied. "I guess I just wanted two of my friends to be here. I'm sorry. Really."  
"Don't worry about it, Max. If anything, I'm thankful. Fuyuhiko's been acting rather strange lately."  
"Fuyuhiko? Is that the first guy we photographed at your school?"  
"Yeah, that's him."  
"Why do you think he's acting strange?"  
"I don't know, really. He's never been this non-confrontational. I feel like other people in the Kuzuryuu clan may have something to do with it. If we can figure out why Peko attacked the teacher, that would be a good start." Mahiru looked back at Max, who was getting her camera out. "Oh! Thanks for reminding me." Mahiru took out her camera. "Come on, let's get started."

Mahiru and Max practiced photography at a different part of the park. Mahiru managed to teach Max a few things about the diffrences between digital and analogue cameras. "They're rather similar, but I prefer digital cameras. They're so much more versatile."  
"I prefer older cameras," Max replied. "I really like the feel, and the look. They're... cool, I guess."  
"Yeah, I guess you could say that."  
The two of them ended up sitting on a grassy bank.  
"You know," said Max. "there's something I've been meaning to ask you."  
"Really?" Mahiru asked. "What is it?"  
"Well, I was wondering... do you think I'm your friend?"  
Mahiru smiled. "Of course, Max. It's been five days. I guess I can safely call you a friend."  
"Thanks. Really means a lot, not just having Peko and Chloe."  
"Is Chloe someone from your hometown?"  
"Yeah. She says she might come to Japan some day. Maybe in winter."  
Mahiru noticed the sun starting to set. "I should probably be heading home. See you later."  
"Bye."


	6. Chapter 6

Mahiru still hadn't heard news about Sato. She filed a missing person report with the police, both for Sato and for her father. The school day went by rather fast, but by the time the day ended, the unexpected happened.

"Hey, Mahiru," Fuyuhiko said as Mahiru was leaving the school.

"What do you want?" Mahiru asked, stopping in her tracks, dreading what Fuyuhiko could say.

"I heard about what you said to Peko yesterday."

"Do you really expect me to forgive her that easily?"

"Of course not. But I want you to know that I had nothing to do with it."

"Really?" Mahiru doubted Fuyuhiko, but something told her he might be honest. "Can you prove it?"

"No. I wish I could, though. Just need to find the bastard behind all this..."

"There's no way I'm helping you, though. For all I know, this could be a wild goose chase or something. And, besides, Sato's gone missing."

"Good riddance."

Mahiru gasped. "What did you just say?"

"I'm leaving. You'll figure out why I hate that bitch so much."

"Get back here!" Mahiru could only watch as Fuyuhiko walked away. She sighed and went on her own way. "Geez... why are boys so stupid?"

"Excuse me?"

Mahiru turned around. She saw Kounosuke, still wearing his uniform. "Uh... ?"

"You don't mean it, do you?"

"I..." Mahiru paused to think. "It's been the case for most of my life, really. I think you've got potential as a photographer, but you don't really seem to want to improve. I want to be harsher with you, but..."

"Believe it or not, I want to be better. Why else do you think I'd talk to the greatest photographer on the planet? If you want to teach me, go ahead! I'm all ears!"

"Sure! I'm already teaching Max. I'll make sure you become as skilled and hard-working as you can be!"

"Thanks. How does tomorrow at noon sound? I can meet you at the park then."

"Great! I'll see you then."

Kounosuke started walking off. Mahiru finally figured out why she wasn't being so harsh with him - she thought he was cute. Not like how she thought an attractive girl was cute, but more like a puppy or kitten. She sighed and started going back home.

As soon as Mahiru arrived home, she recieved a text from Max:

"Hi, Mahiru. I don't really know how to put this, but I don't want you and Peko to fight any more. Do you mind if I give her your number?"

Mahiru furiously started typing back. "Not yet. I want to talk to her in person first. Sorry." She sent the message and started to put her phone back, but a message from Kounosuke appeared:

"Hey, uh, just wondering... is your father's name Akira?"

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

Kounosuke sent a weblink. Mahiru opened it, fearing the worst. "Arrest made in arson case. Akira Koizumi, 38, has been arrested on suspicion of arson." She started composing a message, but deleted it and turned her phone off. "Ugh," she said, climbing the stairs and going into her room. She couldn't belive what she had read. With no time to waste, she started doing her homework.


End file.
